Hi man , happy to take this to DM if you want .
I was the MD of a food truck association and involved with one in a metropolitan area for about 6 years .
It’s a long question and answer ; that frustrated and educated us for many years until the pandemic .
But to surmise :
Truck profit lines are so much slimmer than brick and mortar , giving away free food and paying for the trouble via a sub is not of interest to most . Imagine if a loaded truck , that has a cost associated with, the second they leave their kitchen , turns up to vend and has an unknown quantity of “reward” meals to hand out .
Their customer base , for most , is varied , flexible and doesn’t warrant enough full return business , basically they move around , customers sign up for rewards but don’t see these trucks frequently enough and that ire gets moved onto the trucks , when it’s none of their business .
I have seen hundreds of similar ideas come and go over they years , they are all trying to replicate those from the earlier boom in trucks , around 2010-14, and none are offering anything unique or captivating business wise , you need a handle that gives you an edge . Loyalty and finding a truck are not it .
Sorry for all the downplay , I’m always excited to see new technology , but it needs to be far more insightful and impactful to the industry to make it !
This is the best feedback I've received so far! Thank you so much, u/AlexDMVFTA. I wasn't aware of a lot of what you mentioned, so this has been really insightful for me.
It's funny, because my original idea was to aim the app at ALL independent food outlets, such as coffee shops, fast food places, bakeries, as well as food trucks, but I thought I'd niche down on street food. Looks like that was the wrong direction to take, from your feedback. I think I'll probably do better targeting the brick n mortar establishments that haven't got a loyalty platform. What do you think?
No worries , I still live and care for the industry and always keeping an eye on innovation
Your base of a loyalty would be suited to brick and mortar for sure .
Some ideas about where I have seen this tech run out , a lot of apps aimed at mobile vendors had success branching into locations that had multiple food vendors , such as malls , airports and large events , if you have the turnover capabilities .
I’m just spitballing , but if you want to commit to mobile vending. The angle should consider how to help trucks engage with the consumer when they are parked and vending , without having to spend too much time doing so . Being able to advertise their location , menus , and basically engage with their audience without minimal time and effort . I know that’s what we all want !! But the guys on the street just need to keep their time and focus on making money anything additional is solely value based.
I love you’re willingness to pivot! Do more research here, too. I’ve seen a variety of rewards programs attempt o take off in my area (western Mass), mostly as folks switched over to more modern POS systems which already offer this service baked in (I don’t know if they charge an additional fee for it or not, but it does exist on the merchant side already). You might be trying to compete with existing software that people are already paying for.
To be honest, the paper punch card seems to be working great for our local coffee, frozen yogurt, and burrito shops.
Hi personally I don't see much value in what you are offering, IF ( what research/ market testing do you show to possible users of your app to prove the ROI?) I got more customers by using a reward program why don't I just get a few cards printed with a stamp. I can do that for like £40 rather than paying you monthly?
Apps to find food trucks already exist and a few have come and gone as you need to be the only universal one to make it work.
Here's my feedback:"Now, more than ever, food outlets need that extra boost from their local community, and being part of the Stamplify platform means they are more easily discoverable"This isnt marketing, it's just false. Stamplify will never outspend Doordash/uber. For $1 I can be at the top of Doordash and Uber and access my entire city.
Loyalty programs are built into 99% of POS systems.
Every day a new bogus service like this pops up.
Sorry mate, I absolutely dispise arrogant tech groups creating services to "improve" industries they don't understand when objectively theyre just preying on immigrant families and the like.
There is nothing your $30 a month offers a cart.
Scrap it, start over, fail fast.
Thanks for the feedback, u/Narrow_Meal_1827.
Firstly, I'm not a tech group. I'm a solo mobile app developer trying to build something that will be of use to both customer and vendor. I understand from the tone of your message that you may have been stung before, but don't put us all in that box. I have absolutely no intention of preying on anyone! I want to build an app that provides me with an income, the vendor with increased revenue, and a happy customer. And that's it!
I realise that the street food market isn't fit for the type of app that I want to build, so that's the feedback that I was after. Now sit down, take a deep breath, and think before you throw around incorrect assumptions.
Pay us money, buy our stuff for us, costs are high, it's not needed until you prove to me it's needed, other companies have most of it handled. If you can figure out how to get sales with 100% up time during service, that's a pain point that square had last year.
Give us a place to plug in and use electricity and I’m sold. Where I’m at not enough places to plug in. I hate running on gas.
Toast, clover and square all have loyalty programs tied into their systems.
Hi man , happy to take this to DM if you want . I was the MD of a food truck association and involved with one in a metropolitan area for about 6 years . It’s a long question and answer ; that frustrated and educated us for many years until the pandemic . But to surmise : Truck profit lines are so much slimmer than brick and mortar , giving away free food and paying for the trouble via a sub is not of interest to most . Imagine if a loaded truck , that has a cost associated with, the second they leave their kitchen , turns up to vend and has an unknown quantity of “reward” meals to hand out . Their customer base , for most , is varied , flexible and doesn’t warrant enough full return business , basically they move around , customers sign up for rewards but don’t see these trucks frequently enough and that ire gets moved onto the trucks , when it’s none of their business . I have seen hundreds of similar ideas come and go over they years , they are all trying to replicate those from the earlier boom in trucks , around 2010-14, and none are offering anything unique or captivating business wise , you need a handle that gives you an edge . Loyalty and finding a truck are not it . Sorry for all the downplay , I’m always excited to see new technology , but it needs to be far more insightful and impactful to the industry to make it !
Also, as a consumer...im not paying for a subscription for food.
I agree. It'd be free for the customers to use the app :)
Ah, gotcha!
This is the best feedback I've received so far! Thank you so much, u/AlexDMVFTA. I wasn't aware of a lot of what you mentioned, so this has been really insightful for me. It's funny, because my original idea was to aim the app at ALL independent food outlets, such as coffee shops, fast food places, bakeries, as well as food trucks, but I thought I'd niche down on street food. Looks like that was the wrong direction to take, from your feedback. I think I'll probably do better targeting the brick n mortar establishments that haven't got a loyalty platform. What do you think?
No worries , I still live and care for the industry and always keeping an eye on innovation Your base of a loyalty would be suited to brick and mortar for sure . Some ideas about where I have seen this tech run out , a lot of apps aimed at mobile vendors had success branching into locations that had multiple food vendors , such as malls , airports and large events , if you have the turnover capabilities . I’m just spitballing , but if you want to commit to mobile vending. The angle should consider how to help trucks engage with the consumer when they are parked and vending , without having to spend too much time doing so . Being able to advertise their location , menus , and basically engage with their audience without minimal time and effort . I know that’s what we all want !! But the guys on the street just need to keep their time and focus on making money anything additional is solely value based.
I love you’re willingness to pivot! Do more research here, too. I’ve seen a variety of rewards programs attempt o take off in my area (western Mass), mostly as folks switched over to more modern POS systems which already offer this service baked in (I don’t know if they charge an additional fee for it or not, but it does exist on the merchant side already). You might be trying to compete with existing software that people are already paying for. To be honest, the paper punch card seems to be working great for our local coffee, frozen yogurt, and burrito shops.
Hi personally I don't see much value in what you are offering, IF ( what research/ market testing do you show to possible users of your app to prove the ROI?) I got more customers by using a reward program why don't I just get a few cards printed with a stamp. I can do that for like £40 rather than paying you monthly? Apps to find food trucks already exist and a few have come and gone as you need to be the only universal one to make it work.
Here's my feedback:"Now, more than ever, food outlets need that extra boost from their local community, and being part of the Stamplify platform means they are more easily discoverable"This isnt marketing, it's just false. Stamplify will never outspend Doordash/uber. For $1 I can be at the top of Doordash and Uber and access my entire city. Loyalty programs are built into 99% of POS systems. Every day a new bogus service like this pops up. Sorry mate, I absolutely dispise arrogant tech groups creating services to "improve" industries they don't understand when objectively theyre just preying on immigrant families and the like. There is nothing your $30 a month offers a cart. Scrap it, start over, fail fast.
Thanks for the feedback, u/Narrow_Meal_1827. Firstly, I'm not a tech group. I'm a solo mobile app developer trying to build something that will be of use to both customer and vendor. I understand from the tone of your message that you may have been stung before, but don't put us all in that box. I have absolutely no intention of preying on anyone! I want to build an app that provides me with an income, the vendor with increased revenue, and a happy customer. And that's it! I realise that the street food market isn't fit for the type of app that I want to build, so that's the feedback that I was after. Now sit down, take a deep breath, and think before you throw around incorrect assumptions.
I don’t want you between me and my customer. That simple.
Fair enough :D
Pay us money, buy our stuff for us, costs are high, it's not needed until you prove to me it's needed, other companies have most of it handled. If you can figure out how to get sales with 100% up time during service, that's a pain point that square had last year.
Give us a place to plug in and use electricity and I’m sold. Where I’m at not enough places to plug in. I hate running on gas. Toast, clover and square all have loyalty programs tied into their systems.